Cyndrome

Posts Tagged ‘gestational diabetes’

Among people suffering from diabetes it is safe to say that almost one third of them are not aware of it. Just like the symptoms of growing old, the symptoms  also seem quite harmless. This diabetes blog post tells you about the different types and some of the general symptoms of each to help you comprehend it better.

In this blog post we go over the three main types .

• Type 1 Diabetes
• Type 2 Diabetes
• Gestational Diabetes

Type 1 Diabetes

Type 1  is also called insulin-dependent and immune-mediated diabetes. It crops up when your body cannot generate insulin owing to the fact that the immune system attacks the insulin producing cells in the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes was previously known as juvenile diabetes and is usually seen in children and young adults. Type 1 diabetes amplifies the risk of a number of severe complications such as kidney damage, heart disease, blindness, and nerve damage.

The symptoms of Type 1  include increased thirst and urination, weight loss even with increased appetite, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and fatigue.

Type 2 Diabetes

The most common type that fails to be diagnosed is Type 2 . Type 2  results in symptoms such as kidney and vision problems, skin infections, reduced healing. Sometimes even years and years of suffering from mild symptoms of the same, diabetes is not diagnosed.

The issue here is that more often than not people have no severe symptoms and do not seek medical attention whatsoever; people mostly end up blaming the symptoms on old age. It is for this reason extremely important to get tested on a regular basis once you have passed the age of 40 years.

Gestational Diabetes

Gestational diabetes happens to women during pregnancy. Pregnant women who have never suffered from this disease before but have high blood sugar levels during pregnancy are said to be susceptible to it. It affects almost four percent of all women during pregnancy. Many women that suffer from gestational diabetes believe that their symptoms are due to the pregnancy, it may as well be , but why take the chance.

The Symptoms of Gestational Diabetes include heightened thirst and urination, you end up losing weight inspite of having an increased appetite Weight loss in spite of increased appetite, Blurred vision Fatigue, Nausea and recurrent infections of the bladder and vagina. Regardless if you’re pregnant or not, getting yourself tested for gestational diabetes should be your top priority.

Identifying symptoms of gestational diabetes could be difficult because symptoms are often mild or non-existent. As a matter of fact, most women with gestational diabetes do not experience any symptoms at all. The nature of pregnancy itself is an added complication. The body is expected to change during a pregnancy, so it is easy to fail to notice some of the symptoms that could be signs of diabetes. Women who are at risk should be checked for diabetes, regardless of whether or not they are showing any symptoms.

Gestational Diabetes is only temporary, it withdraws after pregnancy. But once you are diagnosed with gestational diabetes, the odds are that it will return in the future. It is far from easy to tell whether the woman has gestational diabetes or type 2 diabetes.

What causes Gestational Diabetes

A precise cause for diabetes during pregnancy has not as yet been identified. Nevertheless, as revealed by research, the hormonal imbalance caused during pregnancy may be a possible trigger. Autoimmunity, obesity and single gene mutations are also observed as triggers for diabetes during pregnancy. Hormones produced during pregnancy interfere with insulin action and the entry of glucose into cells. The result is that glucose remains within the bloodstream and the levels rise, consequently the need for more insulin is generated.

Gestational Diabetes Symptoms to look out for

• Nausea and vomiting
• Fatigue
• Frequent infections
• Blurred Vision
• Increased thirst
• Increased urination

Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes

Glucose tolerance tests can be used to diagnose Gestational diabetes, the test is carried out the morning after a night of fasting. Your doctor will give you a solution of glucose to drink and take blood samples at intervals to see how your body reacts to the glucose over a period of time.

During pregnancy, if you are at a risk of contacting diabetes, your midwife or your doctor will offer you a glucose tolerance test between twenty four and twenty eight weeks. In case you had contacted diabetes at an earlier pregnancy you will be offered a glucose tolerance test at eighteen weeks, after this test if everything seems normal you will be offered another test between twenty four and twenty eight weeks.

Controlling Gestational Diabetes

Although available on most websites or a good medical blog, treatment plans formulated by Health Care Providers definitely help women with gestational diabetes have healthy pregnancies and healthy babies. Blood glucose levels must remain in the target range. A precise plan must be designed specific to the woman’s needs, so she can stay healthy even with gestational diabetes.

Here are some general tips on controlling gestational diabetes

• Control Blood Sugar Levels
• Healthy Food
• Disciplined, moderate physical activity
• Keep Weight under control

Mild exercise, such as swimming (slow) and walking, can help you in getting your gestational diabetes under control. No exercise regimen, however, should be undertaken without consulting your health-care team. If you’re already following one, let your health-care team know anyway, as they can fine tune your regimen to best manage your gestational diabetes condition.

Before we come to Gestational Diabetes, let’s take a look at diabetes, Diabetes also known as Diabetes Mellitus derived from the Greek word diabaineine, is a chronic and complex disease, caused by having too much glucose (sugar) in the blood.

What is Gestational Diabetes?

Gestational diabetes is a passing condition that occurs during pregnancy. Gestational diabetes affects two to four per cent of almost all pregnancies and entails a heightened possibility of developing diabetes for both the child as well as the mother. Gestational diabetes is also known as glucose intolerance of pregnancy.

What causes gestational diabetes?

Weight gain coupled with changing hormones is part of a healthy pregnancy. But this change makes it a difficult task for your body to keep up with its need for a hormone known as insulin. Any medical blog or study says that when this occurs, your body doesn’t get the energy it requires from the food you ingest.

High risk groups for Gestational Diabetes

To find out about your risk for being affected by gestational diabetes, check each item that applies to you. Speak to your doctor about your risk at your first prenatal visit.

• Are you more than 25 yrs of age?

• Have you had gestational diabetes or shown diabetes symptoms before?

• Have you given birth to at least one baby weighing more than 9 pounds?

• Are you overweight?

• Have you been told that you have “pre-diabetes
(a condition in which blood glucose levels are high,but not high enough for a diagnosis of diabetes)

• Do you have a parent, brother, or sister with diabetes?

• Are you an African American, American Indian, Asian American, Hispanic, or Pacific Islander?

If you have answered yes to any of the above risk factors, get yourself tested for gestational diabetes.
When do you need to be checked for gestational diabetes?

Depending upon your risk factors the doctor will decide when exactly you need to be checked for gestational diabetes.
Your blood glucose level may be checked at your first prenatal visit, if you are at high risk. You will be checked again sometime between weeks 24 and 28 of your pregnancy, If your test results are normal. You will be checked sometime between weeks 24 and 28 of pregnancy, if you happen to be at an average risk. Your doctor may decide that you do not need to be checked if there is no risk or the risk for gestational diabetes is very low.

There were only 3 major types of diabetes known earlier listed as below:
Type 1 Diabetes – You produce no insulin at all.
Type 2 Diabetes – You don’t produce enough insulin, or your insulin is not working properly.
Gestational Diabetes – You develop diabetes just during your pregnancy.
Diabetes Types 1 & 2 are chronic medical conditions – this means that they are persistent and perpetual. Gestational Diabetes usually resolves itself after the birth of the child. Now a fourth sort of diabetes has been added to this list i.e. Pre-diabetes

Let’s check out all four types in detail.
1. Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease i.e. the person’s body has destroyed his/her own insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. It is actually failure of body to produce insulin. Insulin is the hormone that unlocks the cells of the body, allowing glucose to enter and fuel them. Having type 1 diabetes will increase your risk for many serious complications. People with Diabetes Type 1 are not able to produce insulin at all. Most patients with Diabetes Type 1 developed the condition before the age of 40. Approximately 15% of all people with diabetes have Type 1. Some issues of sort 1 diabetes include: coronary heart illness (cardiovascular disease), blindness (retinopathy), nerve damage (neuropathy), and kidney injury (nephropathy).

2. Type 2 Diabetes
A person with type 2 diabetes either does not produce enough insulin or suffers from ‘insulin resistance’. This means that the insulin is not working properly. So it results from insulin resistance (a condition during which the body fails to properly use insulin), mixed with relative insulin deficiency. The majority of people with Type 2 have developed the condition because they are overweight. Type 2 generally appears later on in life, compared to Type 1. Type 2 is the most common form of diabetes. Having type 2 diabetes will increase your danger for a lot of serious complications. Some problems of type 2 diabetes include: heart disease (cardiovascular disease), blindness (retinopathy), nerve harm (neuropathy), and kidney injury (nephropathy). Study extra about these issues and the way to cope with them.

3. Gestational diabetes
Gestational diabetes affects about 4% of all pregnant girls – about a hundred thirty five thousand instances within the United States every year. As a result of gestational diabetes can harm you and your child, it’s good to begin remedy quickly. Treatment for gestational diabetes goals to maintain blood glucose ranges equal to those of pregnant girls who do not have gestational diabetes. Therapy for gestational diabetes always contains particular meal plans and scheduled bodily activity. It could additionally embody every day blood glucose testing and insulin injections. You have to help from your doctor, nurse educator, and different members of your health care team in order that your treatment for gestational diabetes could be changed as needed.

For the mother-to-be, therapy for gestational diabetes helps decrease the risk of a cesarean section start that very massive infants could require. Sticking along with your therapy for gestational diabetes will provide you with a healthy being pregnant and beginning, and may help your child avoid future poor health. (see Diabetes Symptoms)

4. Pre-diabetes
Pre-diabetes is a stage between normal and diabetes stage. It is an alarming sign for upcoming diabetes or a chance to change your future. Universally, numerous terms are given like, Borderline Diabetes, Chemical Diabetes, Touch of Diabetes etc. Pre-diabetes is a situation that happens when an individual’s blood glucose ranges are higher than regular however not excessive sufficient for a prognosis of sort 2 diabetes.